The Senate Commerce Committee held yet another hearing today on the nomination of Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 476 days after Sohn was originally nominated to fill the vacant seat.
The following statement can be attributed to Caitlin Seeley George (she/her), Campaigns and Managing Director at Fight for the Future:
"It is absolutely absurd that Gigi Sohn, a dedicated advocate for the public interest, has gone through three hearings in front of the Senate Commerce Committee when controversial nominees with massive conflicts of interest like Ajit Pai and Nathan Simington sailed through Senate approval (almost as absurd as Sen. Cruz calling out Fight for the Future because we hold lawmakers from both sides of the aisle accountable!).
There is no question that Gigi Sohn is qualified to sit on the FCC. The only reason we are going through yet another hearing is because telecom companies, and the lawmakers shilling for them, know that when she is appointed she will put what’s best for the American people over industry profits. The opposition to Sohn has been unprecedented, and has included personal, blatantly homophobic attacks (something we’re disappointed Democratic lawmakers did not condemn during the hearing). But, as Sohn said today, regulated entities should not get to pick their regulator.
Over the past year and a half the FCC could have been getting to work to restore net neutrality, ensure universal access to affordable broadband, address unregulated use of cell phone location data and the risk it poses to abortion rights, and protect the public from the abuses of telecom monopolies.
Instead of prioritizing this work, Senators have chosen to spend valuable time arguing about someone with massive support from individuals and groups across the political spectrum. It is way past time to confirm Gigi Sohn."